


Crashed Copperright

by Little_Plants_Love



Category: Henry Stickmin Series (Video Games)
Genre: Crash Landing, Injury, Injury Recovery, Multi, Post-Valiant Hero Ending | VH (Henry Stickmin), Valiant Hero Ending | VH (Henry Stickmin)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-02
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-14 15:42:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29794164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Little_Plants_Love/pseuds/Little_Plants_Love
Summary: This is how the ask blog https://ask-crashed-copperright.tumblr.com/ would have played out without the askers/anons!
Relationships: Reginald Copperbottom/Right Hand Man
Kudos: 17





	1. The Beginning

Reginald coughed as Right pulled him from the wreckage of the escape pod, fading in and out of consciousness as his number-two moved him a safe distance from the crash site and into the shelter of a nearby cave. One of the cyborg’s robotic legs was barely attached to the rest of him, and the glass over his left eye was busted, but he had received the least injuries during the turbulent crash- which wasn’t a high bar, considering there was only one other survivor. It took a whole day for the former Toppat leader to come to full consciousness, his vision blurred as he looked around. Admittedly, he wasn’t surprised to see Right at his side- though, to be fair, he wasn’t quite feeling anything at all except for dull pain through a thick haze over his mind. He opened his mouth to speak, only for his second in command to shush him. 

“You’re hurt, Copperbottom. You almost died. Don’t waste any energy trying to speak- if you even can.” To the untrained ear, the cyborg’s voice was just as it always was, but Reginald wasn’t an untrained ear, and was able to note even through the haze that his partner in crime was worried. The chief of the Toppat clan had always been a stubborn man, and another near-death experience among many wasn’t going to change that. So, he struggled to sit himself up, refusing to quit his attempts even as the other gently pushed him back down. After a minute or so of this, Right huffed and let Reggie do as he pleased- trying to pretend that he wasn’t keeping a close eye on him and ready to leap into action at any moment.

Reginald managed to sit himself up, his hands shaking as a fit of coughing wracked him. He felt a cold hand on his back as the coughs wracked his body, but he didn’t shrug it off even after the fit had passed.

“Parts of the escape pod interior weren’t attached properly and came loose- one of the parts hit you square in the throat. I thought you were going to die.” Right was impressed with himself for managing to keep the swirling emotions out of his voice with the last line, though the keen eyes of his long-time partner and best friend saw right through the front. Reginald opened his mouth and made his best attempt to speak, a hoarse noise that was definitely not any sort of speech being all that he could get out. Even that sent a sharp flare of pain through his throat and almost brought on another fit of coughing- which he was luckily able to suppress. 

“I need to get you somewhere safer, as soon as you’re fit to travel. Do you have any place in mind?” It took a few long moments for Reginald to scrounge up his basic knowledge of sign language, shakily spelling something out.

_“H-O-M-E.” _He signed, getting a nod in response. When Right moved to lay him back down, he shrugged off the attempts and shifted to be able to lay his head on the lap of his number-two, oblivious to the discomfort of the metal- aware only of the presence of the person he trusted most, and the gentle hand combing through his hair as he tumbled into unconsciousness.__


	2. Injuries

Hours turned into days, and days into weeks, until time had blurred for the two criminal masterminds. Once Reginald’s hands were steady and his mind clear, he was able to help Right repair the damage to his cybernetics, not bothering to hide the worry in his eyes. He hadn’t been told what had happened to the four other Toppats in the escape pod with the two of them, but it didn’t take a rocket scientist too much to put two and two together.

During the month that the duo spent in that cave, the injuries below the surface showed themselves just as much as the surface ones- at least, Reginald’s did. He had long lost count of how many times the explosion played over in his head, how many nights he woke up gasping for breath with warm tears rolling down his cheeks and harsh sobs wracking his body. Of how many times Right had settled him back down to Earth- quite literally, in this case- and gotten him back to sleep, or how many restless nights they both spent by each other’s sides, grieving silently for the lives lost in the explosion. He didn’t think there was a number able to be named for the amount of tears he had cried into the shoulder of his closest ally- possibly his last ally.

Reginald looked out over the rolling desert sands, silently grateful that a large dune separated the cave from the wreckage of the escape pod. He stood without having to put his weight off of his feet, his breathing having only the slightest of rasps. His injuries were all either healed or were almost there- his speech was rough, but was rapidly improving as well as it could in the environment. Right stood beside him, his attention more on the man at his side than the scenery before him. He was, admittedly, worried- the burning fire that had made his partner in crime a great leader had died, burning lower and lower until finally the slightest breeze put it out. He had managed to salvage enough rations and first aid of both kinds from the crash site to keep them alive, but they were running short, and neither of them knew how long the trek to society would be. “...Right, how many others shot off?”   
The question caught the taller by surprise, and he gave the other a worried look as he answered. “I counted four in our section other than ours, si-”

“Don’t call me that!” Reginald whirled to face his right hand man rather suddenly, his face angry but his weak voice desperate. “Don’t you get it?! They’re all dead! There’s no Toppats anymore! Just me and you." His voice slowly fell from a shout to hardly more than a pained whimper, his clenched fists being moved to cover his face. 

“...I do understand that, Reg. But my respect for you wasn’t ever because you were the leader of the Toppats. My respect for you was because you were strong, and brave, and most importantly? You were dedicated. You thought I wouldn’t notice that you never replaced me, not even a substitute in the months I was gone without a word of news.” Right took a step towards the smaller man, his intentions unclear. The shorter man’s hands fell away from his face, revealing the tears stinging his eyes. “You thought I wouldn’t notice the relief on your face anytime you saw me for months after I came back. How you never wanted to leave my side.” Another step, and Reginald was forced to tilt his head further upwards to maintain eye contact. “I noticed, Reg. Every bit of it. And you know what?”

At this point, there was hardly half a foot’s worth of space between the two, and the shorter of the duo was already starting to convince himself that dying at the hands of his best friend and right hand man was better than starving or thirsting to death out in the desert. “What?” He dared, making the decision that if he was going to die, he was going to be cocky about it. Right grabbed the shorter man’s chin, staring into his eyes as he spoke. 

“I love you for it.” He stayed right there until the other processed his words before letting go and walking out of the cave- his weight making it difficult to traverse the sand. Stunned and speechless, the former leader of the Toppat clan found himself following the man who was once his second in command, countless emotions swirling through him. Good thing they had a long walk ahead of them.


End file.
